DISQUS

nileshbabu · 2 months ago

thx 4 good sharing - my setup is similar to urs - except it doesn't goes 2 twitter

thomaspower · 2 months ago

awesome.

ncaitan · 2 months ago

Louis, you are a great content creator and an excellent "human" filter, and let me emphasize the word human. As librarian I am always concerned with issues in information overload and discovery, and my experience in information indexing and retrieval in libraries and in the web always remind me the diference between human and machine filtering. The best content always comes from a human source, machines will never replace that pragmatic capability. You do a great job with your sharing strategy and filter great amounts of content for us, who only receives the best. Great pos to understand what and why we are receiving from you.

abrudtkuhl · 2 months ago

Louis - As I've said before you are one of my primary human filters :-) allowing me to subscribe to fewer blogs and get a high amount of signal from vacuum of noise out there. Keep sharing great content! Your community is very grateful!

gregorylent · 2 months ago

if all souls did this, we would need MUCH bigger pipes .. and we do anyway, given all the streaming, cross-posting, all-to-all stuff going on

BILL ROMANOS · 2 months ago

Excellent post as usual. I would add that segregation of audiences may no longer be possible. Segregating them based on content. There seems to be one set of audience members that receive communication from different channels. No specifically tailored content for specific audiences. I think this is the result of the technology of the internet.

Gunnar Östergren · 2 months ago

Where do you find the time? Either way, thanks for helping the rest of us with the filtering. Much appreciated.

mcwflint · 2 months ago

Your explanations always get me thinking so thanks for another thought-provoker.

Even though you do share more then the "average" person, I think you could occasionally share some of your non-tech finds. A post that had exceptionally "good writing, reporting and quality" in your baseball, humor, politics or food entries might expand our horizons. If we are intrigued enough we can subscribe ourselves.

Yet, I've been puzzling over the LG Extended Team option in Google Reader. Why would I want those feeds when I already have an excellent filter sharing the best. So if you shared the best food entries would I need the whole feed?

But wait, you say sometimes you drop feeds. But I have no way of knowing that (do I?) so I should subscribe on my own if I'm getting what I need.

And in that vein of honesty you inspire, I end up feeling so worried about my feed when I go off on a tangent - Girl Scouts, perhaps - I start new Twitter and Google Reader personalities.

Off for more thinking. Thanks, Mr. Filter.

taylormarek · 2 months ago

Exactly how I share my links I like. I have a StubmleUpon account so that when I run across a link I like, I'll favorite it, which then in turn posts it to Friendfeed. Friendfeed then in turn posts it with a link to twitter. I know many people enjoy what I share, and I enjoy sharing it with them. You're one of them I'll share with my tribe today! :D

BLOGBloke · 2 months ago

Nice post Louis.

I agree with most everything you say, especially about sticking to your niche and linking to the original source (or a unique point of view) rather than just reverberating the echo chamber.

But I would add controversy can sometimes be a necessary evil so long as it is not only just for its namesake. It can be an effective tool for being heard amongst all the noise from the sock puppets who are dancing to the tune of the piper. A little panache in the delivery can also go a long way. ;-)

I notice (like myself) you and your colleagues will occasionally let your hair down and mention personal items that are not necessarily niche related. I see no problem with that and in fact it only humanises you in the eyes of your readers. So long as the signal-to-noise ratio does not drown out your niche.

That is all. I enjoyed the post and thanks.

Cheers,

..BB

stu · 2 months ago

GReader is definitely much stickier than Twitter or FriendFeed. Not only does the initial share get more eyeballs than a RT, but the ripple effect of more shares can drive a ton of traffic. The shared items is a great supplement to the feeds that I monitor directly. Thanks for sharing!

Tudor · 2 months ago

I wrote about the same thing at my blog a few days ago after I realized that " From your 202 subscriptions, over the last 30 days you read 3,055 items, starred 28 items, shared 30 items, and emailed 0 items “ So I shared a little less than 1% from what I read. The main problem is that what I actually read represents in average something around 10-12% from what I get in my Google Reader. Everything else gets filtered by Postrank or I just read the title and it's not of interest to me. I do share with Google Reader, Delicious, Twitter and sometimes Facebook, but all the time I direct everybody to my friendfeed page.